Broken Soul
by AlteaAuroraRia
Summary: "It revealed a naked, broken soul beneath." Hibari Kyoya could only watch as he tore the cloud apart, filtering out the exterior and leaving his soul behind... :Warnings inside.:
1. Prisoner

_**AN: Hi!~ Here with my first M-rated story... Enjoy!**_

_**Pairings: one-sided 100xTYL!18**_

_**Warnings: Out Of Character-ness, Rape, Bondage and ultimate TYL!Hibari Angst**_

_**Disclaimer: KHR (c) Amano Akira, not me...**_

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**Chapter One: Prisoner**

"I will bite you to death… like rats in a corner."

Was what he said as he stood, one against many, Millifiore troops raining down into the Vongola hideout. Surrounded. He was surrounded. With little chance of survival. But he did not care. All he knew was that he was going to bite them to death for disturbing his Namimori.

He wanted his revenge.

He knocked them down mercilessly. One by one, little by little, they fell. They weren't a challenge. They would never be able to break through his defenses. His inner fighting instinct alone told him that. That was why he let his guard down.

That was why he never expected the stab to come.

A soft chuckle was the last thing he heard before he collapsed to the ground.

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Darkness: it was all he could see when his senses returned. Fabric covered his eyes, diminishing his ability to see. His limbs ached as chains pulled against them. He was restrained, and it angered him.

It was not in his character to be restrained.

Footsteps: feet clacked against metal as he felt a presence approach. His rage built up. This unseen enemy was the one who had kept him like this. As he struggled against his bonds, he heard the presence laugh. It was different from the one he heard before his consciousness slipped. But the familiarity set his blood running cold. It couldn't- it just couldn't-

The presence slipped a hand under his chin, lifting his head and sweetly whispered into his ear,

"Welcome to the Millifiore family, Hibari-chan~"


	2. Before the Plunge

**_AN: Thank you to 18plusForMe and fuwacchi for reviewing the first chapter! ;) Sorry for the shortness of this chapter... I promise the next chapter will be much... more exciting._**

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**Chapter Two: Before the Plunge**

Hibari's rage was palpable. "Byakuran, how dare-" Byakuran chuckled, "Hush, Hibari-chan~ I know, it is lovely to see your beautiful face again."

"Let. Me. Go." Hibari's low, furious voice enunciated each word perfectly. "After all the trouble Gen-chan took to capture you alive?" Byakuran cooed, "I'd rather not."

The Millifiore boss watched in amusement as his captive continued to struggle against the chains, threatening death by bites and tonfas. Byakuran placed his hand on Hibari's thigh, ceasing the yells and struggles immediately. "Careful, my dear~ you may hurt yourself…" whispered the purple-eyed man, lightly fingering his grey-eyed partner's fluffy black hair. Hibari opened his mouth to snarl a retort, but instead froze in horror…

When Byakuaran's pale, cold lips met his own.


	3. Dark Abyss

_**AN: The exciting M rated parts start now! xD Later there will be more, of course...**_

_**Thank you to aimeeshii for reviewing the last chapter (and story alerting) and SYYuuki17 for faving (xD)**_

_**WARNING! Rape/Unwilling bondage... and OoC, obviously **_

**_Enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 3: Dark Abyss**

The Millifiore boss's tongue immediately pressed against the Vongola Cloud guardian's lips, seeking entrance to Hibari's warm cavern. Hibari's lips were pressed into a tight line, but he let out a gasp when Byakuran's knee cleverly rubbed against his clothed crotch, yielding entrance to his mouth.

"Mmph!" Hibari groaned through the lip-lock and invading tongue. Byakuran was touching it, it was all so INTENSE!

Through the forced kissing, Hibari heard cloth tearing. Before the bound guardian knew it, the boss of the Millifiore had tossed away his tie, and ripped off his expensive suit and the buttons of his violet shirt, revealing his pale and thin chest.

Through this, Hibari realized what his captor was about to do and his desperate struggling increased as Byakuran bit hard into the Cloud's beautiful white neck. "N-no… please…" Hibari pleaded as Byakuran licked the marked wound. "Hmm~ it has only just begun, Hibari-chan~" Byakuran murmured possessively into his captive's ear. He forced another kiss as he pinched a nipple, causing his hostage to jerk slightly. Releasing the kiss for Hibari to catch his breath, Byakuran bit into the same nipple, Hibari biting his bottom lip to stop a moan slipping past.

Byakuran continued to mark Hibari's chest, his hand slowly slipping past the Cloud's flat stomach and to his abdomen. The white haired demon unbuckled his prisoner's belt and unzipped his pants. "No, stop!" Hibari begged as Byakuran threw Hibari's pants over his shoulder.

"You are so beautiful, my Hibari-chan~" Byakuran smirked as he saw the beautiful body displayed beneath him squirming, "Hmm~ there is no chance of you escaping, my beloved." He slipped off his own clothes and proceeded to rip of his hostage's boxers before climbing on the completely naked and restrained figure, with a hidden object in hand.

"Kamikorosu…" snarled Hibari in rage as the much stronger Byakuran pinned down the struggling skylark. "Oh~ I'm so scared~" Byakuran whispered, cupping Hibari's chin, "I'm sure you will love this part, Hiba-chan~"

Hibari bit his lip, so hard that blood leaked out, to stop the pained scream as he felt something cool, slick and big enter him slowly."Say something~" Byakuran cooed softly, obviously unhappy with the minimal response from the skylark, "You have a lovely voice~" Abruptly, he yanked the object out.

Hibari could not stop his scream this time. His hands clawed in pain at his chains and his legs strained to close as blood leaked out of his stretched and ripped hole. Tears slipped past the fabric covering his eyes and ran down his pale cheeks. He had never felt so humiliated and hurt in his life before…

Byakuran chuckled as he licked the tears cascading down his captive's cheeks, "It's only just begun, Hiba-chan~!"

The object went in once again and through his pained haze of mind, Hibari recognized the object; the slick and cold surface could only be his precious tonfa. Of course, it had never been used this way before. Hibari whimpered as Byakuran slowly withdrew the tonfa and tossed it aside, the tonfa clanking on the metallic floor.

"You loved it, didn't you?" Byakuran sang mockingly into Hibari's ear. He licked the ear seductively. "Ready for the next round?" He cooed. Hibari closed his eyes behind his blindfold as he shook in his chains. Byakuran smirked in triumph and crawled closer to Hibari's face, forcing another kiss on the pink lips. Hibari struggled but Byakuran's strength overwhelmed him quickly…

Byakuran grasped Hibari's spiky yet fluffy hair and his normally cheery voice whispered softly and venomously, "Suck it, you slut, and if I feel teeth… I will crush them. Painfully." His expression twisted into that of a sick sort of happiness as he immediately gagged the Cloud with his exposed member. Byakuran jerked Hibari's head in a way that forced all of him into Hibari's mouth and began to move, making Hibari suck on it. The raven was tempted to bite down, but the horror of losing all his teeth halted him.

He knew better than to push the white haired boss that far.

Pleasure mounted in Byakuran until he came, pulling Hibari's head forward hard as the black haired guardian choked and gagged on the bitter and hot liquid.

Hibari let his head fall limply back as Byakuran slid out of his mouth. The white haired male grinned sadistically at his sex toy's apparent exhaustion, but he was having far too much fun to stop now…

Hibari's head flew up suddenly as Byakuran jabbed hard into him. The black haired Cloud's scream of terrible pain was muffled by a harsh lip-lock as the Millifiore boss continued to pound hard into his slave. He licked Hibari's wet cheek and groaned in pleasure, ignoring the strangled screams issuing out of his hostage's mouth…

Finally, Byakuran was done: he slid out and lay exhausted on his blindfolded slave, whose tears were falling like mini waterfalls down his face. Sobbing; Hibari was openly sobbing as Byakuran flipped him over, took a knife and carved box-like words, "slave of mine", on Hibari's lower back, marking the cloud as his. Flipping Hibari on his back once again, Byakuran laughed sadistically, "Hmm~ Hibari-chan, there is no escape for you anymore… I have marked you as mine and mine only… You are my property… forever."

Byakuran watched as Hibari continued to cry painfully, his spirit utterly destroyed from being restrained and having another's will forced on his body. It had uncovered his pride and cold self, revealing a naked, broken soul beneath...

The Millifiore boss smirked as he hopped off the table, quickly changing back into his clothes. As he zipped up his uniform, he sweetly cooed to the chained guardian, "Hmm~ Hibari-chan, since you have been such a god boy, I'll leave you with a little present~" Hibari ignored his captor as his sobs continued, echoing through the cell. Byakuran smiled sweetly as he strode over to his sex toy, in his hand a small cylindrical object…

Hibari's only reaction was a loud gasp as it was inserted into his much-abused organ. It vibrated rhythmically as the cloud guardian squirmed to find a comfortable position.

"Bye, my sweet~" Byakuran tweeted as he half-skipped, half-strode out of the cell. Behind him, Hibari let out tortured moans from the pain in his member, causing the evil Millifiore boss's ever-present smirk to widen…


	4. Twisted Crash and Bored out Musings

_**AN: Hi! Sorry for the late update... Anyway, thank you to fuwacchi, aimeeshii, 18plusForMe and 10018 (lols, this story must suit you) for reviewing the last chapter~**_

_**This chapter can be a bit... boring, compared to the last chapter... but you can't have smut everyday! It's currently the 10 days before Choice and yes... there will be more you-know-what to come... Byakuran needs to attend meetings too so he can't be with Hibari all the time. =**_

_**Pairings and Warnings for the chapter: one-sided 100xTYL18, thinking about the sexual stuff in the last chapter (xD), Hibari angsting... a lot.**_

_**Enjoy~ And review~~ :)**_

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**Chapter 4: Twisted Crash and Bored-out Musings**

Time seemed to stretch on forever as Hibari lay in the cold dark prison cell. Silence pressed down on him, broken only by his soft moans of pain, caused by the infernal _thing _that was currently planted in him. He tried so hard to halt the cries of weakness, but after a while, he simply gave up.

He was too broken, both mentally and physically.

Tears trickled down his face, soaking his blindfold as his will, his barrier to his bottled emotions, snapped… allowing his soft interior self to be slowly revealed to the outside world…

And ultimately, shatter, in fate's cold embrace.

* * *

Another of the irritating Black Spell captains droning on about the outcome of the Vongola hideout infiltration and Vongola's Merone base invasion, Byakuran mused as he stuffed another marshmallow into his mouth. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall straight ahead of him; it read five o'clock in the afternoon. He sighed. They had been at this meeting for three hours straight and yet were still not done.

Byakuran toyed with his next 'mallow, gently squeezing it between his fingers. They were soft and fluffy, but not as fun as the pale flesh of his beautiful slave that lay in his private prison cells. At least "Hibari-chan" responded oh-so-sexily at every sensitive touch, each seeking prod…; the marshmallow just bounced back in shape when the pressure lifted.

Thinking about Hibari, a thought made it known in the ever-scheming boss's mind: why had the cloud not been switched with his younger self yet? As far as Byakuran knew, (and it was a lot, considering the extensive intelligence of the Millifiore family,) Hibari was the only guardian who was still in the current era's form. It was rather disappointing to the Millifiore boss. He very much had wanted to meet the younger version of Vongola's strongest guardian…

And of course, break him all over again.

"…ran-sama? Byakuran-sama." The white haired man's mind focused once more on his captains, both White and Black Spell, and realized all, except the ever-expressionless girl opposite him who was staring blankly ahead, were staring at him with concerned expressions.

"Oops, sorry," he chimed, "I must have drifted off for a while…" He smiled at them reassuringly and one by one, the captains went back to their discussions.

Byakuran pretended to listened to their reports, but in reality, his mind had wandered off again, back to his thoughts about the younger Hibari Kyoya… would he still be the same if he was younger? Less… submissive? (He had heard that the younger Hibari was a very impulsive boy, and the ten years had somewhat tempered it.) Or worse, less _sexy_? If that was the case, he would rather stick with the current Hibari.

He crammed a handful of 'mallows in his mouth once again, thinking about the raven haired male that awaited him (albeit reluctantly)… and what he would do to him when he saw him again.

Thinking about the endless possibilities was more fun than listening to his captains' bickering anyway.


	5. His Pain, His Pleasure

_**AN: - =.="**_

_**Ignore what I wrote up there... xD Anyway, thanks to Butterfly Illusions, 18plusForMe and fuwacchi for reviewing the last chapter... and Rya-chan X Shii-chan for faving this story (and Reasons to the Truth)**_

_**For fuwacchi: a bit of a spoiler - 18 from the past will NOT be appearing... I have added a twist that somehow has the Vongola Cloud Ring left UNDESTROYED by TYL! Tsuna...**_

_**Anyway, on to the chapter now... and review!**_

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**Chapter 5: His Pain, His Pleasure**

Dreaded footpads, once again, heralded _his _arrival.

Hibari Kyoya cracked open an eye, seeing nothing besides dark velvet, before sinking back into the state of semi-consciousness. Byakuran smirked at the limpness of the once-fiery Hibari's movements.

It would be fascinating to behold how much the Cloud guardian could withstand in today's "event".

"Hibari-chan~! Happy to see me, aren't you?" Byakuran's dulcet voice murmured, echoing in the enclosed space. He laid a hand on his captive's exposed abdomen, causing Hibari to gasp softly. "So… you _are _happy to see me. I'm _so _glad," Byakuran chuckled, "By the way, I have a special line up prepared, just for you, today, my dearest Hibari-chan…"

Hibari tried not to show his fear at the veiled threat in the last sentence, but Byakuran's trained ears could sense the hint of a frightened hitch in his ragged breathing. It was an extremely satisfying sound to the sadistic tormentor of the Cloud_._

Hibari's leg jerked suddenly as a cold, sharp edge came in contact with his sensitive thigh. Confused, he opened his mouth to question the unfamiliar object but was interrupted by the instinctive pained hiss as it slowly sank down into his flesh. After a few seconds, it let up… and Hibari was about to inwardly sigh in relief…

When it stabbed down into the already cut spot, all the way through until the tip grazed the surface of the table the Cloud was strapped onto.

Hibari let out a pained and horrified cry as he felt warm liquid coat his right leg, soon after echoed by the white haired demon's mocking laughter. Byakuran turned the object, a knife, sideways and Hibari's next scream rang out in the silence, sounding more melodious to the twisted Don Millifiore's ears.

Byakuran's chuckle underlined his sadism as he took out two marshmallows from his pocket and soaked it in the blood of his slave. He popped one into his own mouth, savoring the metallic hint on his usual sweet indulgence, before stuffing the other into the Cloud's mouth. Disgusted by the act, Hibari tried to spit out the disgusting "treat", but Byakuran immediately grabbed his throat tightly, forcing him to swallow the marshmallow whole.

Byakuran let go of his hostage's throat and Hibari painfully gagged and choked on the 'mallow. After it was finally down, Hibari tried to catch his breath, but as usual, the Millifiore boss would not let him do that...

"Sing for me, my beautiful skylark."

The vibrator in Hibari, which had been unnoticeably switched off, suddenly started again, but this time… it was at maximum power. A long and loud scream ripped out from the raven's throat as Byakuran watched, practically floating in the clouds, at his slave's immense agony. Hibari's slender hips bucked as the object went on, not stopping, at a rhythmic pace that both pained and pleasured him at the same time…

He felt it coming… an unfamiliar sensation that begged to be released. And willingly, he let it be released…

* * *

If it had not been blocked by a foreign object planted by the slave's smirking owner.

"Oh no you don't, Hibari-chan~~" Byakuran chirped happily as he stroked the knife's edge on the slave's most sensitive point of his abdomen. The stroking just added more fuel to the fire as Hibari moaned loudly, his fingers clenching and unclenching.

"W-why…" the skylark gasped, barely able to form words.

"We-ell~~ I won't let you come…" Byakuran chimed in response, "Unless…"

"Un… l-less...? Aahh…" Hibari groaned, desperate for the answer.

"Unless… you beg me."

"B-beg… you? I…"

"Come on, Hibari-chan…" Byakuran's stroking increased in speed, eliciting more cries from his captive.

Although in too much pain to feel anything else, Hibari could still sense his pride shatter completely as he screamed, "Please! Let me come… p-please… I b-beg of… you…"

"Please who?"

"P-p-please… Byakuran…"

"Byakuran what?"

"I… Aahh… PLEASE! BYAKURAN-SAMA, PLEASE!"

Byakuran chuckled, triumphant at reducing the Vongola Cloud guardian to a mere begging slut, "Now that is a good boy, Hiba-chan…"

The Don Millifiore oh-so-slowly tugged off the ring around Hibari's member and immediately… release. The warm liquid sprayed haphazardly as Hibari, utterly limp, collapsed against the table.

Byakuran switched off the vibrator, reaching forward to ruffle Hibari's hair, wet with sweat, as he bent down to Hibari's ear, mockingly whispering, "I knew you would just love our event today, my sweet skylark…" Slowly, he removed the velvet blindfold to gaze into tearful gray eyes, filled with pain and humiliation.

The steely glint that used to reside in the strongest guardian's eyes… no longer existed.

Byakuran had won… and broken the Cloud's soul once again.

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And he would gladly do it a hundred times more.


	6. Last Minute Preparations

_**AN: sorry it's kind of late... no muse for a long time... xD Anyway, here now we have dame-Tsuna *is whacked by Tsuna fangirls* and his goons. ^^ But later we have more 100xTYL!18 "fun"! **_

_**Thank you to Butterfly Illusions, Spades Hearts, fuwacchi and 18plusForMe for reviewing the last chapter! Don't worry guys... I'm a sadist too, so we are on the same boat :D **_

_**WARNINGS! need I say... anyway, Rape... Bondage... Anal sex... at the end, with 100 and TYL!18.**_

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**Chapter 6: Last Minute Preparations**

Sawada Tsunayoshi lit his Vongola ring once again, in his other hand an orange box, which shook every few seconds. He closed his eyes, ready to insert the flame into his box weapon, but memories of the last dreadful encounter made him hesitate.

He did not want that monster to turn up again.

Dejectedly, he let his Sky flame disappear and his tired feet dragged him out of the training room where he was suppose to practice opening the Vongola box weapon...

Unfortunately, all attempts so far had failed.

The young Vongola boss-to-be strode down the corridor, still stressing about how he could open the box without it attacking him. As he neared the control room, however, soft voices, laced with worry, drifted out from the room, distracting him.

"…cloud… missing..."

"…left… word at…"

Tsuna's heart sank when he heard those words. He had not been thinking about _him_ at all, with all the training and other worries… and now he felt as if he had not spent enough time looking for _him_.

Hibari Kyoya. The strongest guardian of this time had been missing ever since the penetration of Merone base. Last they had heard of him, he had been holding off the invasion of the hideout, and all tries to communicate with him had failed.

Thus, theories about what had happened had been voiced, each wilder than the previous. Gokudera had even gone as far as to claim that he had abandoned them, but Tsuna knew that was not the case, for although the Aloof Cloud claimed not to care about the Vongola, he did have something he cared about still living in the hideout… a certain ball of yellow fluff.

Everyone knew that if he were to leave them willingly, Hibari would never have left Hibird behind. And yet the small bird was still in the hideout, chirping his master's name every so often.

It was, as Ryohei had put it, puzzling to the extreme.

For Hibari Kyoya was too strong to be captured… was he not?

Or that was what everyone thought (and hoped).

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_**4 days later…**_

"Well done, Tsuna." The Sky flame user looked down to see his tutor walking up to him. "Thanks… Reborn…" Tsuna gratefully smiled as his box weapon opened, allowing the Leone di Cieli Version Vongola be swallowed up in a wreath of flames.

"It's the day tomorrow... where it all ends…" Tsuna quietly said to his tutor. "One can only wonder what will happen tomorrow," Reborn carefully replied, "Now, Kyoko and the others have prepared a feast for us, I'm sure you don't want to miss it." The home tutor smirked and went off ahead of his student.

Tsuna walked slowly out of the training room and was immediately stopped by—

"Pii~! Hibari, Hibari!"

"Hahaha! Lambo-san is going to catch that yellow cotton candy tamone~!"

"Lambo! No chasing birdy!"

The sight of the yellow bird immediately brought back a wave of guilt to the young Vongola Decimo… and a sudden worry.

_What if the Choice game somehow demanded Hibari participate?_

They would lose, without even starting! Irie Shoichi had stated that if one side could not meet the game requirements, that side would immediately forfeit.

Tsuna stood frozen, horror-stricken, at that realization, and that was how Kyoko found him later…

"Tsuna-kun? Are you alright? The feast is about to start!"

"Ah..? Oh, Kyoko-chan… I-I'm fine."

As Kyoko led Tsuna to the dining room, Tsuna could not help but worry, not just for the sake of beating the Millefiore, but the Cloud guardian's own safety…

'Hibari-san, where are you?'

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"N-ngh… no... m-more… pl—AAGH!"

"Hmm~ Hi-chan… you are so cute when you beg me~ ^^"

Hibari bucked his hips involuntarily as Byakuran licked his delicate shaft seductively. The Millefiore boss pinched Hibari's pale thighs, his slave trying desperately to hold back his moan.

"Come on, Hibari-chan… I want you to sing out your pleasure." Byakuran goaded as he proceeded to lap Hibari's thighs, coating them with a layer of saliva. The raven squirmed, trying away from Byakuran's touch, but it only made Byakuran laugh more. Cupping Hibari's cheek, he gazed into pain-filled gray eyes and mockingly cooed, "You look like a beautiful damsel in distress when you do that~"

"You… ba-bastard… AAH!" Hibari's insult ended with a high pitched cry as Byakuran drove two fingers up his ass. The black haired guardian twisted and groaned as he felt the fingers scissor, curl and stick themselves deeper in, hitting Hibari's prostrate and making him see blinding white. Meanwhile, Byakuran continued to finger and lick his captive's slender body, grin growing wider as Hibari let out more and more of his arousing voice…

Soon, when the Cloud's thin and sexy body was entirely covered in sweat and saliva, Byakuran pulled his fingers out of his sexy toy, the blood from the slave's ass running off the table to the floor of the cell. The Cloud's gray eyes were clouded with pain, humiliation… and maybe a hint of… pleasure? The white-haired male certainly thought the pleasure was there.

Hibari let out a shriek as he felt the Millefiore boss enter him again. Byakuran chuckled as he thrusted into his Cloud (yes, after days of torture, he could finally claim complete ownership of the Vongola Cloud guardian), Hibari screaming at him to stop. The white-haired male crushed his lips onto Hibari's bruised ones, biting on the bottom lip so hard that it drew blood. The desperate screams were muffled by those detestable lips and Hibari soon found it hard to breathe… until, finally Byakuran drew away, and Hibari gulped in lungfuls of air just before the white-haired boss pressed the demanding lips to the raven's reluctant mouth once again.

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After quite a while, Byakuran pulled out of his toy and began to knead and stroke the toy's bleeding member. Hibari let out a soft gasp as he came, then his vision blurred and went black…

Grinning sadistically and maniacally, the twisted boss slipped on his clothes and unchained the limp and unconscious form of Hibari Kyoya. He gathered the Tenth Vongola Cloud guardian in his arms and carried him out of the cells to his private bath (which was always ready for him).

Carefully, he laid the skylark into the warm waters and watched as the liquid bathed the blood and semen off Hibari's body. Inwardly, Byakuran smirked; the limp Cloud in the bath was the Vongola's strongest guardian… was he not?

Well, Byakuran would be looking forward to humiliating the strongest…

At Choice the next day.

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**_AN: Review? _**

**_My friend said Hibari was lame for passing out so fast after orgasm... but it's the first time since he got captured, KAY? HIBARI IS NOT LAME!_**

**_ahem..._**


	7. Humiliation, Realization

_**AN: My longest so far, yet not my best chapter... it was difficult to do the Choice part especially. Not that much Hibari-angst here... humiliation though, yes.**_

_**Thank you to: Butterfly Illusions, Spades Hearts, 18plusForMe, Rya-chan X Shii-chan, and **__**Narizawa Kuro (**__**10018 is a pairing tht has like VERY little stories... m(_ _)m I actually wasn't much of a fan until I started writing this story. XD) for reviewing the last chapter...**_

_**WARNING: Cross-dressing... Sexual Abuse... Sexual References**_

_**Enjoy~**_

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**Chapter 7: Humiliation, Realization**

Warm liquid splashed against his pale skin as Hibari Kyoya weakly opened his gray eyes to surrounding water. His mind was a drifting blank; he had no idea how he had gotten to this place.

The skylark urged himself to recall and suddenly a cascade of scenes flashed in his head:

_Calloused hands touched, moving into places he had wanted best left alone…_

_A wet muscle (a tongue, he told himself), slowly slicking his body with thick wads of saliva…_

_Sounds, echoing in his mind; screams of agony, cries of pain, groans of pleasur—hold up, say what?_

And then he remembered.

"_T__here is no escape for you anymore… I have marked you as mine and mine only… You are my property… forever..."_

Hibari bit his lip to stop the cry of pain that threatened when he jostled his stiff legs. As his blurry eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that he was currently in a white bathtub, surrounded by suds and red water. He cringed when he saw the diluted blood; the skylark knew it was his.

It was beyond humiliating to know of that fact…

Suddenly—

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_Click_.

Hibari flinched as his white-haired tormentor appeared at the door. "My, my, Hibari-chan~ you are awake~~ and at the right time too…" Byakuran's hand attempted to caress Hibari's cheeks, but the Cloud, out of fear or defiance, drew back… only for an abrupt vibrating _pain _between his legs cause his muscles to spasm. Hibari's head slammed hard against the bottom of the tub, his limbs twitching and jerking uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the other, unhurt male simply watched, the vibrator's controller in hand, as Hibari thrashed and writhed desperately in the bloody water…

After a gut-wrenching minute, the pain ceased; the raven lay exhausted in the tub, only for his captor to pull him by the hair, up to his smirking face.

"Now, Hibari-chan~ we are going to meet with some privileged guests later, and I want you to be on your best behavior… is that alright, my little birdie?" Hibari just whimpered brokenly, which made the Millefiore boss smirk even more.

"Come on now, Hi-chan~" Hibari was forcefully dragged out of the bathroom and into a huge closet, dripping water all the way there. His dull pale gray eyes sparked with fear when he spotted a contraption, designed to hold a person as he was being forcefully dressed…

And he was being forcefully led to it.

Byakuran shackled his slave's neck, limbs, waist and head to the contraption, chuckling with overflowing sadism as Hibari squirmed desperately. "Don't be impatient, Hibari-chan, this will only take a while," he murmured as he disappeared out of Hibari's line of sight down one of the numerous racks of clothing…

Half an hour had passed when the Millefiore boss finally returned to a shivering skylark with a bundle of clothes in hand. Despite his tiredness, it did not take the guardian long to realize, simply just _what_ type of clothing it was…

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"Welcome, Tsunayoshi-kun~"

Sawada Tsunayoshi's eyes narrowed as across from him stood the Millefiore family. At its head was the man who had destroyed nearly everything he held dear… Tsuna felt anger course through his veins such seeing his smirking face.

Byakuran, in contrast, looked very pleased to finally meet with the younger version of the Vongola family. Of course, their Cloud guardian was nowhere in sight… Ah, well. He mentally shrugged.

Tsuna glanced minutely at each of the supposed real Funeral Wreaths, holders of the true Mare Rings; by Byakuran's immediate left was the blue haired girl, which he guessed was most likely the Rain Wreath. Behind her was the "magma freak", as Gokudera had called him, with red hair and a bored expression on his face. A demon-masked figure in robes stood to the man's other side, the eerie aura surrounding him clearly placing a mention of Mist on him. To Byakuran's other side was the pale green haired man, who wore a smirk like he did when Byakuran first showed them the real Wreaths on the monitor, and a green haired boy who wore a depressed expression and hugged a faded pink toy bunny tightly.

"Well, Tsunayoshi-kun, apparently you like to cheat, hmm?"

"C-cheat?" Tsuna questioned the white-haired male surprisingly.

"Although it was a good conceal," Byakuran smirked, "I can still sense 0.01 percent of a person in your base. And that excludes the Sun Arcobaleno, who, by the way, can come out as there is no non-tri-ni-sette here."

"Someone in the base…?" The entire family turned to see a very flustered Squalo walk out of the base exit (much to Yamamoto's amusement). Reborn followed, walking to the Tsuna's side, "It was very… thoughtful of you to think of that here, Byakuran."

"My pleasure, Arcobaleno. Now… I shall ex—"

"Wait."

Everyone turned once again in surprise at hearing the normally quiet Chrome Dokuro speak. She flinched at the sudden onslaught of eyes, but when she locked gazes with Tsuna's encouraging ones, she continued, "You aren't playing very fair as well."

"Hmm~? Why is that, Chrome-chan?"

"I can sense another concealed person in your entourage."

Byakuran chuckled, "Not bad for being just Mukuro-kun's pet replacement." Ignoring the glares directed at him from the Vongola guardians, Byakuran gestured to the real Funeral Wreaths, who parted in a path, revealing—

"Who is that?"

"Oh, you mean you can't tell, Tsunayoshi-kun and co.?" Byakuran wrapped his arms around the person's neck, "How amusing."

Try as he might, Tsuna could not tell who that person was. She was very thin, almost sickly, with short black hair. A blindfold covered her eyes and she wore a Millefiore White Spell uniform, which revealed most of her slender legs and arms, all badly scarred and marked. Her legs trembled as if it could not hold her weight properly. Shackles were wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and it was very obvious that she was a prisoner… so an ally for Tsuna. But who was she?

Hibird, who had hitched a ride on Yamamoto's shoulder, started chirping noisily. The blindfolded girl turned her head in the direction of the bird's noises, unnoticed by all the others.

The young Vongola Decimo's confusion was reflected in that of his guardians and other members too. Shoichi glared at Byakuran, "Is she another Millefiore member you did not tell me of?"

"Millefiore? _She_?" Byakuran stared for a second, before he and all of his Wreaths burst into laughter. Shoichi's glare changed to surprise then irritation as the Wreaths and their boss would not stop laughing.

"Oh… Shou-chan," Byakuran wiped away the tears of laughter that came to his eyes, "You say the funniest things at time—"

"H-Hibird..."

Everyone, the Wreaths included, jumped in surprise as the girl spoke. But instead of the high pitched voice that the Vongola guardians had expected, it was much deeper, like a male's, but it sounded… weak… broken.

As if the fight had long been beaten out of 'her'.

* * *

Byakuran's gleeful expression changed into a furious glare. "How… many times…" He grabbed the 'girl's' hair and snarled, "How many times… have I told you… to behave yourself and _shut up_ until I say otherwise?"

"I-I—I'm sorry…"

"You…" Byakuran threateningly pulled out a rectangle shaped controller.

A blood-curdling scream rang through the air as 'she' fell to the floor, writhing and thrashing in agony. It was then that Hibird's unintelligible twittering changed into that of words…

"Hibari, Hibari~!"

* * *

And then… Sawada Tsunayoshi understood.


	8. Choice and Chance

_**AN: AHHHHH! I'm so sorry! I absolutely lost my muse for the story... until a friend of mine, SYYuuki17, gave me a few ideas! Thanks so much! SYY17 on dA: http:/ syyuuki17. deviantart. com/**_

_**And of course, thanks to: Hello **(for reviewing chapter 5), and** xxyaoifangurlxx, 18plusForMe, Butterfly Illusions, Narizawa Kuro and YearOfThePanda **for reviewing chapter 7!_

**_My longest chapter yet~~ I hope it makes it up for the wait... (but I suppose not...) Anyway... it is not my best writing as well... m(_ _)m_**

**_More disclaimers on other stuff: The 'Hey Honey' Part is from a KHR Parody of the last Choice chapter. 'Pookums' is from an info conversation in Nintendo's Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Cetain ideas (c) SYY17._**

**_EXTRAS! 10069 is evident here... =w= sorry if that's offending or something. 6918 is here too, btw :D_**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Choice and Chance**

Realization hit them hard.

"That... person…"

"It can't be—"

Shocked mutterings continued to filter around the Vongola members: Was it really him? Why is he with the Millefiore? And, most importantly…

What has Byakuran done to him to make him sound so… shattered?

Squalo was the first to snap openly at the Millefiore boss, "VOI! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE CLOUD GUARDIAN, YOU SCUM?"

"Quick of the mark, are we, Squ-qu-chan?" Byakuran grinned at the absolutely furious Varia Rain guardian, "Hmm hmm, how to put it… Well," The white haired man's arms snaked themselves around the trembling raven's exposed midriff, "You could say that your little skylark has been a very good boy these few days."

Next to Squalo, Dino's shocked expression hardened into a (uncommonly for him) fierce glare at the amethyst-eyed male. "What," He snarled, voice shaking with almost uncontrollable loathing, "Have you done to Kyoya…"

"Hmm hmm, you'll see, Dino-kun," Byakuran chuckled quietly, "but now, we have more important things to attend to."

"If you are talking about Choice," Sawada Tsunayoshi spoke up heatedly, "there is no way we are participating after what you—"

"Ah~ Sorry to disappoint you Tsunayoshi-kun, but we had a deal. I could wipe all of you out as you stand here. Now come forward, and place your hand on the gyro roulette. When I say 'Choice', we spin to the right. Understood? Now…"

"Huh? What? Wait! Wa—"

"Choice."

* * *

"So… shall we begin?" One of the Cervello stood up and announced, once the "choices" had been made. Tsuna hesitated for a fraction of a second, before he replied, "I think I still need to discuss with my… family about some matters."

"Vongola Decimo, the time for discussions is past. I think we made that quite—"

"No," Byakuran interrupted her, "I think they need this time to reflect about… recent occurrences."

"Yes, Byakuran-sama…" The pink-haired duo nodded and turned to Tsuna, "You are given fifteen minutes, Vongola Decimo." With that, the girls left both the families, the Millefiore family stand a ways from the Vongola as they gathered closer for a discussion.

"Quick, we haven't much time," Tsuna immediately asserted, "We have to do something about Hibari-san before it's too late."

"But if we try to rescue him, we will be disqualified for sure!"

Tsuna opened his mouth to reply, but Dino beat him to it, "So you're saying we should leave him to his death…?"

"I don't mean that, but we really have no—"

"We still have to try nonethe—"

"Enough!" Tsuna snapped, "Arguing isn't going to help!" He glanced at the seemingly interested participating Wreaths and lowered his voice, "I have a plan. It's risky, but also our only chance…"

* * *

"Choice Battle, Vongola versus Millefiore: Battle start!"

The announcement rang through the air as the Vongola participants; Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto, revved up the engines of their hover bikes. In the base, Shoichi and Spanner tapped at their instruments, carefully co-ordinating with the others.

It was 'Do or Die'; there was no turning back.

* * *

"You think this is the place…?"

"I hope so, from what I saw earlier."

Chrome adjusted her grip on her trident and glanced worriedly at Dino. The duo had managed to sneak out of their viewing area (or prison until Choice is over, as Dino suspected it was) and they were now hovering carefully outside the building they believed the Millefiore family was watching from on two of the extra hover bikes.

Chrome waved a hand and an illusionary hole appeared, allowing the bikes to fly in just as Kikyo flew past them on flame boots.

"That was a close one. Good work."

"Um… T-Thank you?"

"Any luck yet?" Dino questioned as the pair silently walked towards the area of the viewing room.

"N-not yet…" Chrome stammered and continued to search in her mind, _Mukuro-sama? Mukuro-sama, I need your help!_

After a few minutes of silence, an answering chuckle brought a faint blush to her cheeks. _Kufufu, hello my cute Nagi. Why the urgency of the call?_

_Um… I think Dino-san can explain better…_

_Oya? Can he now… hmm, very well then._

Mukuro shimmered into existence beside Chrome and Dino and smirked at the blonde, "Well, hello Bronco. It's been quite a while hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has, Mukuro."

"So…" Mukuro's mismatched eyes had an unreadable look, "what may I do for you today?"

* * *

"This is b-o-ring!" Bluebell whined as she stuffed her hand into her bag of chips. Byakuran, used to her constant complaining, commented, "Why don't you go play with Zakuro or something?"

"Nyuu~ Zakuro is such a weirdo, who'd want to play with him?"

"Eh, I heard you, idjit!" Zakuro snapped as he walked towards her. Bluebell rudely turned her head away to emphasise her distaste.

A moment of silence. Until…

"Oh? My chips finished!" Bluebell wailed again, standing up in frustration and running off to find one of the vending machines that the Cervello had installed. Zakuro squeezed his eyes shut as though as he could block out the sound of the blue-haired girl's high-pitched cry.

It was so annoying; everything about her was, to him.

* * *

"So you want me to distract him?"

"Yes."

Mukuro hesitated. Byakuran had taken a scarily immense liking to him when they had first met and something about that man, about the way he had so easily beaten him, was unnerving and a little –dare he admit it- frightening.

However, Mukuro also knew why they had to do this…

Hibari Kyoya.

That name always felt rather… warm, and comforting to the bluenette. He did not understand why those feelings were there, but ever since he had first met the brunette… he had wanted to be close to him. The feeling had made him panic; it was new and rather disgusting, as the people around him, besides maybe Ken, Chikusa and Chrome (or Nagi, as he called her), had always been pawns or enemies.

No one had ever made him feel the need to have closeness before.

Dino was beginning to think Mukuro would refuse to help, he heard a soft—

"Excuse me?"

"Alright, I'll do it…"

Dino's eyes widened and he stammered, "Uh…T-Thank you."

The pineapple did not reply; he seemed to be contemplating something far way.

"Ah…" Chrome stared at Mukuro; she could obviously sense he was a bit nervous about the whole thing. "Mukuro-sama…?"

Mukuro was shaken out of his thoughts and a glance at Chrome told him that she had sensed his discomfort. He plastered a fake smile on his face and ruffled her hair, "I'm fine, Nagi, don't worry…"

Well, at least he hoped he would be.

"Ah… which should I choose?" Bluebell muttered to herself as she stood on tip-toes to peer at the huge variety of chips displayed at the vending machine. "Hmm…"

Suddenly, she sensed someone looking at her. The Rain Mare ring on her finger immediately flared to life. "Who's there?" She called.

"It's just me, idjit. I was wondering where you were."

"Eh? Boo Zakuro~," Bluebell snapped but also relaxed as the sight of her fellow Wreath appeared, "So you followed—"

Something heavy hit her head, she felt herself fall into darkness… the last thing she heard was a familiar chuckle, "Kufufufufu…"

* * *

"She fell for it rather easily."

"I-I was lucky… the Mist Wreath isn't here..."

"…Still it was a good effort. Well done, Nagi."

Chrome blushed at Mukuro's praise, "Ha… Thank you, Mukuro-sama…"

Dino grinned, "At any rate, it's one down, two more to go…"

* * *

"Where is she, idjit!" Zakuro snapped, "It's been three minutes, she usually is back in fifty seconds!"

"…"

"Aren't you worried at all, Byakuran-sama?"

"…"

"Byakuran-sama!"

"Be quiet!" Byakuran snapped, "I want to watch! If you are so worried about her, go find her yourself." He stuffed a handful of marshmallows into his mouth, and his hand tightened around Hibari's neck, the fingernails drawing blood. Hibari gasped softly in pain, but Byakuran ignored it.

"Uh.. Ok, then, Byakuran-sama…" Embarrassed at his outburst at his boss, Zakuro fled towards the nearest vending machine. Once he was there…

"Bluebell!"

The bluenette was splayed on the ground, her hair covering most of her face. As Zakuro ran over, he did not notice a presence following him…

"Fool."

Another thud on another unsuspecting Wreath, and said wreath dropped like a stone to the ground.

* * *

"Here's for the grand finale…" Dino murmured softly.

Mukuro nodded and peered around the corner at the silhouettes of a sitting, spikey haired man, and another figure on the ground, outlines of chains connected from its limbs to the ground. His jaw clenched as the spikey haired shadow groped at the other smaller figure, which squirmed a little in the chains.

"Ready?" Dino asked the two pineapples. Chrome nodded nervously and clutched onto her trident carefully, eye glinting with determination. "When you are," the male half of the Vongola Mist guardian replied.

"Let's go."

* * *

Mukuro took a breath, a step, and—

"Hey honey."

Whatever Mukuro had planned to say evaporated into the air.

"Wha-?" He gasped, cheeks flushed, "Don't 'honey' me, you ass!"

* * *

Dino stifled a chuckle at Mukuro's outburst as he and Chrome stealthily made their way to the smaller figure on the ground. As he neared, he noticed the bruises on the skin of the raven haired male, marring his body with purple marks that looked like they hurt a lot. Dino's anger flared up at the sight.

Byakuran was going to pay for what he did to Kyoya.

"Be careful… we may startle him," Chrome whispered a word of warning as Dino leaned towards Hibari, so close that if he fell forward, it would immediately make contact with the pale flesh of his former student's thin neck. The Cavallone boss nodded in reply and tentatively touched the brunette's slim shoulder.

Hibari just had time to let out a terrified squeak when Dino's hand covered his mouth. "Hush, Kyoya. It's me," Dino breathed softly in Hibari's ear.

"D-Dino?" gasped the raven as he felt his blindfold coming loose.

"Chrome and Mukuro are here too."

The blindfold came off and Hibari immediately found himself face to face with the familiar hazel-brown eyes of his former tutor. "D-Dino… it really is you…" Hibari cried softly, tears brimming at his eyes…

To say he was shocked was an understatement. Hibari's eyes were wide and bright with fear, and had lost his fiery glint and narrowed glare. From behind him, Chrome paused work on the chains to stare at the new eyes of the feared Vongola Cloud guardian. She exchanged a glance with the blonde.

Broken, shattered. They both realised it at the same time.

Byakuran had broken Hibari in both body and soul.

* * *

"Well, if I can't call you 'honey', can I call you 'sweety'?" Byakuran "innocently" asked as he walked closer to the frozen form of Rokudo Mukuro. Said bluenette gaped at him for a few seconds then retorted, "No, you idiot!"

"Pookums? Darling?"

"N-No!"

"Really?" Byakuran breathed into the illusionist's ear. Mukuro shivered.

This was _so_ not in the plan.

He was at a loss for words as Byakuran advanced, amethyst eyes glinting with undisguised happiness and satisfaction at the way Mukuro was reacting… he himself knew he was going to lose it, he was going _to start freaking out—_

_Mukuro-sama?_ Chrome's voice echoed in his head suddenly, _we have him! Let's go._

_Ah… Um… I'll be right there…_

Mukuro seemed to gain a little confidence at Chrome's words. "Kufufu… Well, well… Looks like my time is up… I hope you don't miss anything." With that Mukuro fazed into the air.

"Miss anyth—" Byakuran spluttered. His head whipped around to the empty spot which was once his personal slave. "What?"

* * *

"He's spotted us!" Chrome cried as the four fled down the hallway to the bike. Random gunshots were heard behind them, along with the enraged screams and yells of Byakuran and the now awake Rain and Storm Wreaths.

"Mukuro, why are you still here? You should be back inside Chrome's mind!" Dino yelled above the sounds of the pursuit.

"Ah… it takes a lot of concentration on my and Chr-Nagi's part, and I don't think we can spare the time now!"

"Mukuro… so it's really you too…" Hibari remarked suddenly from where he ran (his pace was slower, so the group slowed too) with the other three.

"Ku…fufu… yes, I am, Hibari-kun," Mukuro replied, in a gentle tone that startled Dino. Mukuro had never spoke in such a caring tone to anyone before. It was… weird.

"We're here!" Chrome called as they burst into the room where the bikes were. "Quick, get on!" She snapped at Dino, who immediately climbed on one of the bikes (Chrome had never sounded so scary before).

Just as Dino was about to mount the other bike, Byakuran burst into the room, gun pointing straight at—

The white haired male fired.

And Hibari collapsed into Mukuro's arms as the bullet found it's mark.

* * *

**_PS: There is no D18... just teacher-student relationship _**

**_Review? =w=_**


	9. Controlled Heart

_**A/N: No amount of apologising can make you forgive me for this super long wait... sorry XD I think this was rather... sucky... I don't know. And for those who didn't know who got shot... I thought it was obvious (to me) xP**_

_**Thanks to Genmyounai Hikaru, 18plusForMe, Butterfly Illusions, XXxKHRObsessionxXX, xxyaoifangurlxx, YearOfThePanda and shiorinkyo for reviewing the 8th chapter!**_

_**Uh... not many warnings... I think. XD THERE IS 6918 IMPLIED HERE! Don't complain please, 6918 is OTP, hard not to put in. xP**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**There is a time skip somewhere at the end because I didn't want to write about Yuni talking about the stuff she talked about. =w=**_

* * *

Chapter 9 – Controlled Heart

"Ah… Why I can't I just die?"

Yamamoto Takeshi's eyes flared with disbelief as the greenette he had supposedly knocked out just minutes ago sat up, the sun flame burning brightly on the "target" point. Daisy gripped his ripped bunny toy as he curled his knees to his chest, staring up into the shocked face of the Vongola Rain Guardian.

"I-impossible… I just defeated you…"

"Daisy can't die," Kikyo smirked triumphantly as he flew in. As he continued to explain, Yamamoto numbly tuned him out, mind swirling with confused thoughts.

_Does that mean… we lost? Everything we've done… for nothing…?_

"The battle has been decided. The winner is..."

* * *

"No!"

"Kyoya!"

Mukuro barely registered Chrome and Dino's horrified cries as he stared at the slumped figure in his arms. Blood dripped out of the shoulder wound, painting the white uniform red. The thin raven haired male was scarcely breathing, his pale skin as cold as ice…

_No… please… you must live…_

The boss of the Millefiore smirked sadistically as he lowered his still-smoking pistol. "Hmm. That will teach you to run from me."

Byakuran took a step towards them and immediately the trio drew back, Mukuro still cradling Hibari's limp body. "So…" He mused as Bluebell and Zakuro flanked him on either side, "You will still defy me." His violet eyes met Mukuro's mismatched ones as they challenged each other silently, when—

"The battle has been decided. The winner is…

"The Millefiore Family!"

Bluebell cheered happily and Zakuro's mouth quirked into a smile as the announcement was made. On the other hand, Dino's jaw dropped and Chrome nearly collapsed in horror as they exchanged glances.

_Tsuna and the others… lost?_

Byakuran and Mukuro, on the other hand, showed no signs of hearing the announcement. After a few seconds stare-down, Byakuran gestured to the wreaths with him, "Let's go meet with the others…"

_You can keep him for now… but he will still be mine in the end._

* * *

"Did we… win…?"

Tsuna shook his head at the bespectacled redhead as he sighed, "No, we didn't."

Shoichi immediately sat up, "B-but… Argh…"

"Please lie back down..." Tsuna said softly. He looked at his tutor, "Are Dino-san and the others alright?"

Reborn shrugged, "We have had no contact with them since the battle began."

_Then we can only hope they accomplished their part—_

"So, Tsunayoshi-kun, you have lost." Byakuran's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Hand over the Vongola rings."

_Never!_ "N… I—"

A sudden female voice called out from the side as a dark green haired girl strode into view.

"I object to this."

* * *

Tsuna watched in confusion as Byakuran's eyes widened, "Yuni… you…"

_Yuni? Who's Yuni?_

To Tsuna's side, Shoichi muttered something about "speaking with her own lips…" The others just shrugged, although Reborn was watching the scene intently…

Fuuta had once told Tsuna,_ the Millefiore is a joint family, formed by the up and coming Gesso Family, and the Giglio Nero Family who have had a long history with the Vongola. Gesso became White Spell, and Giglio Nero became Black Spell. Byakuran was Gesso's boss, therefore commander of White Spell… but Black Spell mostly still follow their original leader, a young girl…_

And it finally clicked.

"Eh? EEEHHH? SHE IS THE OTHER BOSS OF THE MILLEFIORE?"

Yuni smiled radiantly at them, "It is nice to meet you, everyone from the Vongola Family."

Her expression changed into a frown as she stared at Byakuran, "And as joint leader of the Millefiore, I believe I have half the rights to this descision."

* * *

"After them!" Byakuran's outraged snarl sounded on their heels as they fled.

"Everyone!" Tsuna yelled, "To the Flame Teleportation system!"

Sounds of the chase became louder as the Wreaths gained on them. Tsuna's heart jumped to his mouth.

_We won't make it—!_

"Tsuna!"

"Boss…"

The young Vongola Tenth's eyes nearly dropped out of his sockets, "Dino-san! Chrome!"

"Kufufu, what about me?"

"Hiieee!"

Dino rolled his eyes at the brunette's high pitched shriek when he spotted Mukuro. Some things just never change. "Go, Tsuna!" he called, "We'll hold them back." He and Chrome immediately disappeared out of Tsuna's line of sight.

As they reached the teleportation system, Tsuna noticed Mukuro, who was breathing heavily, gently carrying a pale figure with messy black hair. His breath caught in his throat.

"Is Hibari-san—"

"I don't know!" Mukuro snapped suddenly, "Just get us out of here!"

Tsuna cringed, "Alright…"

Light encircled them just as Chrome, Dino and Squalo ran into the group, and the Vongola Family disappeared from sight.

* * *

"They're gone, Byakuran-sama."

Byakuran glared murderously at Kikyo, who, to his credit, did not flinch from the venomous gaze.

"How dare they take the pacifiers of the tri-ni-sette, as well as the key to unlocking everything in the parallel worlds?" He spat angrily, "And most importantly, how am I going relieve all my stress now that my favourite toy is gone!"

"Oh-ho. The bullet should be taking effect pretty soon," Kikyo replied.

"But I still prefer him here." Byakuran grabbed a handful of marshmallows and crammed it into his mouth.

_You will never escape me, my pet…_

_Hibari Kyoya._

* * *

_You will be loyal to me alone. Take the Vongola rings from within._

Soulless gray eyes under messy black hair opened, and the owner of those eyes whispered softly into the night.

"Yes, Byakuran-sama."


	10. Turmoil Inside Out

_**A/N: Again late... I was supposed to post this on last Friday, but FF is not being nice to me! Friday is rather late too though, but I will not excuse myself anymore. Although doing the storyline IS getting difficult. I had to kick out the Inheritance Succession Arc (My fave *sob*) to make the entire thing fit.  
**_

_**I'm not good at First Person... 1st time trying. And I should think you can tell who's thoughts it is right? He's still very confused... another unwelcome something, fighting against your conscious isn't fun. And this is slowish, filler chapter type... so bear with me. It's long... I hope. XD**_

_**Did you hear about Japan? It's the worst thing that could happen EVER. I do hope everyone is safe there! Everyone should pray for Japan, for without them, there would be no anime, sushi, sashimi... and definitely no KHR!**_

_**Enough ranting. Anyway...**_

_**Thanks to SaraSamaOfDoom, jen-jen713, phuongly, Genmyounai Hikaru **(I know it sucked, chapter 9, but I just wanted to get Hibari rescued from the marshmallow freak quickly), **XXxKHRObsessionxXX, 18plusForMe, Butterfly Illusions, Ai Minamoto, Lady Psychopath, xxyaoifangurlxx and Usasa-tan for reviewing! More than 10 reviews for that one chapter, thanks so much! :D**_

_**Now, I present to you, the 10th chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Turmoil Inside Out**

The artificial lights of the Vongola headquarters were bright, though it was already deep into the night. As she stealthily walked down the corridor towards the medical ward, she noted how quiet and different it was from the morning, especially that particular morning, when they had discussed everything entailing every matter since the disastrous Choice battle…

* * *

"_The main problem would be WHEN they will be able to repair the transport system and get here." Different from his usual demeanor of fear, Sawada Tsunayoshi carefully was assessing and explaining the situation to the present people. She admired his calmness; for a fourteen year old, he was already acting like the boss of the strongest mafia family in Italy._

_At those words, Gokudera Hayato frowned from his position at Tsuna's right hand, "Knowing their numbers and technology, Tenth, it could be in less than a day…"_

"_I personally doubt it; we did do a certain amount of damage to the machine." Spanner spoke up as he sucked one another of his lollipops, "I'd say about a day or two, tops."_

"_Does it make any difference from 'less than a day'?" The silverette hissed at the mechanic, but Tsuna put a hand on his right hand's arm and said, "Enough on that. So we established about less than a day to about two days."_

"_Now on to the fighting strength," The bespectacled Irie Shoichi said from his bed. He had insisted on being in this meeting, much to Bianchi's disapproval, as his wounds were still quite bad. To minimize the movement, the meeting was in his ward._

_The present guardians', herself included, expressions dropped at that. Gokudera, Tsuna and Yamamoto Takeshi were still a little exhausted from the Choice battle, Lal Mirch was still injured from the Merone base attack, and Lambo was obviously too young to fight. Even Rokudo Mukuro, though he had not left yet, was extremely tired; he leaned on her shoulder weakly, eyes nearly closed._

_And of course, there was Hibari Kyoya._

_And there was his Cloud ring._

_As soon as Yamamoto voiced it out, the room tensed up. In this time, Tsuna of this era had destroyed all the Vongola rings to protect them from Byakuran, but without them, the Vongola was very much weakened. The guardians from the past all had their rings, but Hibari was from this time; his ring was gone._

_Just like his spirit._

* * *

Chrome softly slipped into the darkened room, where the raven lay, unconscious and barely alive, after he was rescued by herself, Dino and Mukuro from Byakuran. The white-haired male had inflicted so much torment on him that he seemed entirely different from what he was before the Vongola's attack on Merone Base. She herself had seen his broken gaze; it was so… surreal, to see the Vongola's strongest in such a manner.

Byakuran had even shot him; his cruel eyes as Hibari had crumpled into Mukuro's arms, hand still gripping the smoking gun. Memory of that sparked anger in Chrome, something she usually did not feel. It was a reason why she was here, the other being Mukuro-sama's request to "take care of Kyoya, Nagi… I know I can entrust his safety to you." She had simply nodded as her master faded into mist.

He was just an illusion after all, a real illusion, but one nonetheless…

She spent the rest of the night next to the skylark's bedside, thinking and eventually going to sleep.

* * *

Three in the morning, and the outside world slept.

He, however, was wide awake. The meeting earlier that day was in his mind, contemplating what they had discussed. The main thing he could not put out of his mind, though, was Yamamoto's enquiry about the Cloud ring.

_Hibari's_ Cloud ring: that was destroyed.

The prudent thing would be to switch Hibari with his younger self and get the younger's Cloud ring, but everyone knew they could not leave the injured Hibari in this state. "He looked so lost and shattered," Dino had said sadly, "almost as if the fight had drained out of him entirely." It was a terrifying notion; nearly implying that the Vongola had lost their strongest guardian.

Damn Byakuran. Damn the Millefiore. Damn the fact that he had to be boss. Damn that Hibari's and the other family members' lives were at stake.

"Argh! Just damn everything!" Tsuna snapped into the darkness.

"Tenth…"

"Tsuna."

Tsuna winced as the other two occupants of the room answered his frustrated cry; he had not meant to wake them up.

"It doesn't matter… we were awake too," Gokudera answered wearily to the unspoken thought. The meeting was also giving him and Yamamoto so much to think about, they could not get a wink of sleep. The fourteen year old raven below Gokudera's bunk simply nodded.

"I can't just stay here! Somewhere out there, _he_ is waiting, that vicious _fucker_!" Tsuna cursed, surprising both Yamamoto and Gokudera.

Tsuna _never_ cursed. Never.

Everything had changed because of the Millefiore, and Byakuran.

Sighing, Tsuna's anger deflated as he thought of how he could defeat Byakuran. It was against all odds, but he had to try.

He had to.

For the family, for his friends, for _everyone_.

* * *

First Point of View

There's someone else here.

I'm awake; I can feel the bed beneath my fingers, the pillow under my head. The constant beeping of the machine next to my bed. And worst of all, the stabbing pain up my rear; it hurts a lot.

But I can't seem to open my eyes.

There's someone else in my body; it's not even concealing itself. It's taking over, slowly but surely. It's stopping me from opening my eyes; I just realized that.

I don't understand why it's here. I should be the only one in my body, my own conscious. Unless Mukuro is the one possessing me… but he wouldn't, would he? The last I saw him, he had this weird gentle smile on his face as he looked at me. No one has looked at me that way before; it's always fear, and respect, not gentle and… loving?

What a strange feeling… for my rival to show in his dual coloured eyes.

No, this presence is different. It… seems familiar…

No… N-no… It can't be! I thought he wouldn't bother me anymore! He should not be h-here! No! Don't! Stay away from me!

I can't hear the beeping anymore… I can only sense… numbness… the soft pillow covers… it's gone… Everything is fading… fading…fad-

Master said to kill the guardians and get the rings.

Starting with the girl sleeping next to me, the female Mist guardian.


	11. Lose Your Mind

_**A/N: No I have no excuses... Just a lost of muse, I haven't even been following ANY KHR for the past... six months? No, zip, nada.**_

_**Thanks to: SamaSamaOfDooM, LadyPsychopath, XienRue **(I could do that... depends. Thanks for the suggestion)**, Genmyonai Hikaru **(Aish, sorry for the fail at emotions, it's really hard...)**, Inu no youkai, and iAmACupOfJello for the reviews! I don't know why you guys bother to stay so long on this story... _**_

**_Anyway, hope you like it! The title of the story is from "Lose Your Mind", a song by the Wanted ^^_**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Lose Your Mind**

Chrome jerked awake from her nightmare as the bed she was leaning on suddenly moved. Disoriented from having just woken up, she failed to recognize her surroundings until she noticed the hospital bed.

The _empty _hospital bed.

She gasped in horror, thinking that the charge that Mukuro had left her had disappeared right under her nose. Wide-awake, she was about to run out of the room to tell Tsuna when she noticed the thin silhouette of the Cloud guardian by the closed window.

"Oh, goodness…" Chrome let out a breath of relief as she walked towards the unmoving figure, "Hibari-san, it's best if you go back to bed…" Moving closer, she tentatively tapped his limp arm by his side.

Hibari flinched at the touch, and she drew back in concern. Chrome shivered inwardly as she noticed how his bangs-covered eyes seemed to eye her warily, like an animal in a cage.

After a few minutes of staring, Chrome worriedly asked, "Hibari-san, are you alright?"

The taller male did not respond, and Chrome was beginning to suspect something was wrong. Unconsciously leaning closer, she stared carefully at his pale complexion, peering past his bangs to glimpse his one purple and one grey pair of eyes…

Wait; was that one purple and one grey?

* * *

Tap.

Tap.

_Tap._

"What the hell is with the tapping?" Gokudera cursed as the annoying tapping roused him from his sleep. Tsunayoshi rubbed at his honey-brown eyes tiredly, muttering, "Gokudera-kun, why are you so noisy even at night…"

"Sorry, Tenth!" The silver haired male promptly sat up from his bed, knocking his head against the ceiling as he attempted to bow to his boss. Tsuna let out a disgruntled noise, as Yamamoto simply mumbled, "Even if you wake up, you could have tried to be softer," before falling back to a deep sleep.

"What, you baseball—"

Tsuna held up a tired hand to cease Gokudera's cursing, and quickly changed the subject. "What tapping was it you heard?"

Tap.

Tap.

The duo glanced at the direction of the incessant tapping, to the closed window. Warily, Gokudera stalked closer to the window, while grabbing the nearest thing as a weapon (Yamamoto's baseball bat). Tsuna slowly reached forward and opened it, letting a gust of cold air, and the intruding source of the noise to blow and fall in respectively.

"Is that... Hibird?" Gokudera muttered in confusion as the ball of yellow fluff landed at their feet. The small animal had disappeared just as they returned from Choice, and no one knew where it had gone… until now, that is.

"Where has he been all those days," Tsuna muttered, closing the window. He picked up the small bird, and abruptly froze.

"…Um, what is it Tenth?" Gokudera was increasingly puzzled by the peculiar behavior from his boss and sudden appearance of the bird.

Tsuna gently pried the item from the bird's mouth and stared at it in shock.

"I-It's…. impossible… the Cloud Vongola ring…"

* * *

Chrome opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as the seemingly weak male pinned her against the wall, pressing his tonfas against her fragile throat. She stared fearfully at him, as Hibari leaned in and whispered, "Don't you dare make a sound, Mist Guardian."

She gasped for air as the pressure on her windpipe increased, confused and afraid of the frightening behavior of the Cloud Guardian. He was not supposed to be able to move, but here he was, looking at her emotionlessly with his dual-colored eyes that alone frightened her.

"H-Hibari… san…" She whispered, "H-how…"

The raven-haired male's emotionless face smoldered into a glare for barely a second before fading, and he breathed in her ear, "You don't need to know how..."

She could not think straight; all she could see was the dual-colored orbs that seemed to make her forget her surroundings. Desperately, she searched her mind for the link between herself and Mukuro.

_Mukuro-sama, please help!_

* * *

Hibari let out a surprised sound as the figure he was pinning began to change shape, from a petite girl into a taller male whose hair was definitely longer.

"You're supposed to be too weak to come here…"

"Kufufu, you know, Nagi, Kyoya. She's really relenting when it comes to control," Mukuro smirked as the raven-haired male glared at him.

Mukuro did a double take as he noticed the purple eye glaring heatedly at him. Immediately, he knew who it was.

"Byakuran, what do you want?"

The glare twisted into a smirk that looked foreign on the Cloud guardian's features, as the possessor made himself known, "So you did notice. Hah."

"Why is you possessing Kyoya's body, you bastard!" Mukuro snapped in irritation, a trident forming in his hand, as his mind raced for ideas on how to chase the conniving bastard out of _his _Kyoya's body (He certainly thought Kyoya as his after years of trying to woo him, after all. No way was he going to lose out to some rapist!).

"I'm only partially possessing him, Mukuro-chan—" –Mukuro gagged inwardly at the demeaning title— "You can be sure most of this is Kyoya's own thinking."

"Y-You're lying," spluttered the blue-haired male.

"Whatever. You'll see." The smirk faded, to be replaced by the familiar expression of boredom mingled with disgust on the Cloud guardian's face.

"Sa, Kyoya, what is it you want then?'

"Hand over the Mist ring, Rokudo Mukuro, if you value your life," Hibari deadpanned at the question.

Mukuro laughed, "No way, Kyoya. Anyway, you don't have the guts to do it."

A flicker of uncertainty flitted across his face. The pressure of the tonfa on his throat increased, his knuckles turning white as he gripped them tightly. Mukuro knew that the Cloud guardian valued nothing more than his already shattered pride, and with careful jibes, he might be able coax the real Hibari out of the shell.

It was a really big "might", though.

"If you take the ring, where would you go anyway? We will easily hunt you down, since you are nothing to what you were before." Mukuro felt guilty that he had to say this to Hibari, but he knew it was the only way for the Cloud guardian to come back to his senses.

Hibari's resolve to his "master" faded, and inside, he felt his real self waking up from somewhere in the recesses of his mind. Glaring at the red and blue-eyed male, he tried to fight back against the jumble of feelings that suddenly seemed to crash on him.

"S-Shut up," Hibari snarled quietly, his frame trembling as Mukuro chuckled at his weak reply.

"What can you do to stop me, Kyoya? Kufufu, you will try to disappear to Byakuran's side, but once he's done with you he will just throw you aside like all his other toys." Mukuro tried to coax Hibari to wake up, with just his eyes, trying not to resort to the worst possible line to wake him up…

"I said, shut up, you bastard!"

"You will never be able to beat me anymore, Kyoya. The Vongola will find you after you have betrayed them, and find no more use for you as Cloud guardian,"

_Please, Kyoya, don't make me say it…_

"Even now, you are pretty useless to them…"

_Please…_

"I don't understand why they don't just throw you away now…"

_I'm sorry…_

"You have no pride left. You are nothing but a broken soul."

Mukuro's guilt increased tenfold by the shocked expression on Kyoya's face, the real consciousness back. The crystalline tears fell out of the normal grey colored eyes, the total impact of the words crushing him.

The Cloud guardian dropped his weary head, not letting his most hated enemy see his tears. With the onslaught of emotions, he felt his other self trying to regain control of his body…

"…Kyoya…?" Mukuro's guilt made his concern all the more palpable as he tried to get the attention of his colleague.

Hibari lifted his head, bloodshot eyes framed by his tousled and messy hair, the pupils flickering back to purple and grey repetitively. Hibari knew he was going to lose control very soon… reaching up, he grabbed the tie of the taller male he was pinning and brought it down to his level, whispering…

"Kill me."


	12. Pride and Conscience

**_A/N: This chapter is short and the wait was long. I'm so sorry! I honestly don't know why you guys even read this any more... Next year will also be a trying year for me, thus I will update even less... I have also kind of run out of ideas... Do you want me to end this after the final battle? Or somewhere before and make it collide with canon? I really have no ideas, please give me some feedback on how I should proceed... I promise, though, I won't abandon this._**

**_Thanks to: NitaD1869, Genmyounai Hikaru, SaraSamaOfDoom, YaoiYumYum, 18plusForMe, xxyaoifangurlxx, XienRue and DRANZERFOX _**_(I agree that Hibari is cute when broken...) **for your awesome reviews! And thank you for 50 reviews! Love you all =D**_

_**Mukuro is definitely becoming a major character here... so sorry to 6918-antis, because that's my KHR OTP... Characters are OOC (especially Mukuro I think...)**_

_**Please enjoy! =D**_

* * *

__Chapter 12: Pride and Conscience

"_Kill me."_

Rokudo Mukuro felt the unreal plummet of his heart at the request. Any other request, any _other_ person, he would grant the request. But he could never… not for the beautiful brunette in front of him.

"N-no, no…" Mukuro gasped immediately, torn between pushing the cloud guardian away and shaking sense into him, or just staying in the position next to Hibari's ear and inhaling his scent. "I won't… I _c-can't, _K-Kyoya…"

Even as he struggled to control the _other _him, Hibari could not help but let out an exasperated sigh. "Just do it, you herbivore!" He cried, unconsciously letting his desperation be heard in his plea. He could not afford… for his pride; he wanted, no, needed things to be ended in his own accord.

Mukuro felt his heart constricting at the raw emotion in Hibari's voice, but he just could not do it! Hibari's first and only request of him, and it was of something he could no bring himself to do. "Please Kyoya… don't make me…" Mukuro pulled away from Hibari's grip and looked into his eyes…

Hibari's grey was once again replaced by the awful purple—

* * *

Byakuran was definitely not happy. In his private quarters where no one had access to, besides himself, he tried to wrest control from his resisting Cloud. He was impressed Hibari still had it in him to fight back; he had underestimated how much pride meant to the raven-haired male.

It was all that illusionist's fault… he had come, taken over the fragile one-eyed girl's body, and spouted all the insults at the prideful Cloud guardian, causing the raven to actually regain his senses for an entire minute! When Hibari had expended his use, Byakuran was _so _going after the pesky Vongola Mist guardian…

He was surprised to feel a pang in his chest at the mention of Hibari "expending his use."

* * *

"_I-It's… impossible… the Cloud Vongola ring…"_

Sawada Tsunayoshi grabbed the tiny bird from its perch and yelled, "Hibird! Where did you find it?"

"Tenth!" Gokudera Hayato quickly pried the bird from Tsuna's tight grasp; Hibird fluttered back to its perch, letting out a hoarse cheep from Tsuna's accidental suffocation.

"It's not possible, Gokudera-kun! They told me… all of them told me the rings were _gone_!" Tsuna's brown orbs were wide with shock as he tried to come to terms with the ring's sudden appearance.

"We'd better ask Kusakabe-san." The two turned to see Yamamoto Takeshi slip off his bed and on to the floor with an uncharacteristic serious face. Tsuna nodded in silent accent; Hibari's trusted right hand should know… right?

Tsuna knew that was their only lead for now.

Yamamoto suddenly turned to Gokudera, a lively smile on his face as he said, "And I didn't know you like my baseball bat so much Hayato, haha!"

Tsuna sighed as he proceeded to separate the livid Storm guardian from the grinning Rain guardian's collar.

He should have expected it, really.

* * *

-For another two seconds. The grey returned, this time more pained and exhausted than before.

Mukuro totally agreed with those feelings.

"I-I can't… control him…" Hibari managed to gasp out before his left eye flickered purple again, "Do it!"

"Why does it have to be… me?" Mukuro hoarsely whispered; he knew he had to, it was the only way before Hibari lost to the demon he battled, but he could not. It was an unusual feeling, Mukuro never felt like letting people off before.

Or maybe he had…

_Flashback_

"_Do you intend to die sitting down?"_

"_Is that how you see it? I'm sitting because I have no need to stand."_

"_Then this discussion is over."_

…

"_You are quite sensitive… to sakuras."_

…

"_Do you think you can defeat me without all these sakuras? If so… you're wrong. I have defeated countless people at your level... and buried them in a place close to hell."_

_Flashback ends_

'I have buried countless people at your level in a place close to hell… so why didn't I… do the same for you?'

Despite himself, Hibari scoffed, "Do you… honestly think… S-Sawada and his people would want to kill me?" Hibari swayed dangerously after he said this, his eyesight blurring. The other Hibari was gaining control again…

"You are… the only o-one," he whispered, "that would do it… without batting an eyelash."

Mukuro stared at the exhausted Cloud guardian, 'is that… what he really thinks of me?

'Murderer without a conscience?'

Mukuro's trident hung limply in his hand, failing to respond as Hibari's eye flicked from grey, to purple, to grey—

His trident.

The dual-eyed illusionist noticed a second too late.

Hibari doubled forward as the three sharp tips of the Mist guardian's trident sank into his torso. Blood dripped down from the side of his mouth, his cheek coming to rest on Mukuro's shoulder. His knees buckled forward, falling forward and causing the bluenette to fall with him.

Mukuro, however, made no move. He was stunned and horrified; the entire thing had happened so quickly… He dropped his trident and gingerly encircled his arms around the brunette who still had the trident sticking out of his back, his shallow breaths caressing the illusionist's ear.

He could not believe it just… happened.

"N-no... Kyoya!"


	13. What's Left, Unbroken

_**AN: I guess, here's the final chapter of Broken Soul! Well... it might be confusing for you guys, sorry... DX**_

_**Thanks to: Rokudo Renna, Tri-Ni Sette01, 18plusForMe, Inu no Youkai, cowmoo and Fujoshi wannabe for reviewing the last chapter. I can't believe it! 65 reviews! Love you all :D**_

_**There is hinted TYL!1827 here. At the end, is the part that Zakuro attacks the base and from then on it's following the canon storyline. (Well, canon storyline + Mukuro and gang. And Fran.) **__**10018 never really comes to pass here... Sorry about that. **_

_**I hope you enjoyed reading this! Happy Lunar New Year to you!**_

* * *

Chapter 13: What's Left, Unbroken

All contact was gone. Byakuran's aura darkened as he angrily stormed out of the room, punching a concerned and confused Kikyo in the face when he came to ask what was wrong.

Damn Mukuro. That annoying illusionist was going to pay for taking what was his… Forget his somewhat attraction to the bluenette; the first thing he would do when he sees him is sock him in the bloody face.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, Byakuran wondered why he cared so much.

* * *

"It's impossible… the Cloud Vongola ring…" Sawada Tsunayoshi grabbed the tiny bird flapping by his hair and yelled, "Hibird! Where did you find it?"

"Tenth!" Gokudera quickly pried the bird from Tsuna's vice-like grip; Hibird fluttered to the table, letting out a hoarse cheep from Tsuna's accidental almost suffocating.

"It's not possible, Gokudera-kun! They told me… all of them told me the rings were gone!" Tsuna's brown orbs were wide with shock as he tried to come to terms with the ring's sudden reappearance.

"We better ask Kusakabe-san." The two turned to see Yamamoto slip off his bed and onto the floor with a seldom-seen serious face. "He should know…"

The other two nodded in agreement. Tsuna continued to stare at the ring; even if they had it, would Hibari still be up for fighting?

"Anyway, I didn't know you liked my baseball so much, Hayato, haha!"

Gokudera flushed red at Yamamoto's carefree statement and Tsuna had to suppress a exasperated sigh as he proceeded to separate the livid Storm guardian from the grinning Rain guardian's collar.

* * *

"N-no… Kyoya!" The trio started as a sudden shout came from the opposite sick bay.

"Was that… Mukuro?"

The confused bluenette slid to the ground, still holding the inert form of the unconscious Cloud guardian. Numbly, he pulled the trident out from where Hibari had impaled himself.

He couldn't believe it.

Had he honestly been desperate enough to kill himself? Had that been truly the only way? Mukuro's mind was in whirl; what would he have done if Hibari had managed to kill himself?

The mist guardian let himself be guided to a chair as the unconscious Cloud guardian was tucked back in bed.

He hoped, at the very least, Byakuran was finally out of Hibari's mind.

* * *

Hibari managed a full physical recovery in the next few days, and even mentally he seemed better. Byakuran lost control of him, and he managed to hide what happened to him in those days.

Byakuran would pay dearly the next time he saw him.

Tsuna initially was adamant about Hibari staying in bed, but once he heard that they might be planning an assault soon, he punched the frightened Sky boss in the face for keeping him in the dark. Tsuna never went near him again.

Hibari was careful to make sure everyone forgot about what happened at Choice.

Chrome was back, and to everyone's surprise, Ken, Chikusa, M.M. and Mukuro's mysterious apprentice Fran had managed to rescue the real Mukuro from Vendicare Prison. Mukuro recovered quickly, and Tsuna was seen trying both talk to Mukuro and running away. Of course, as much as the entire Vongola family was glad for more help, Gokudera was not pleased that Mukuro's presence frightened his boss.

Mukuro went everywhere but the sick bay. He would never admit it, but he was afraid.

Afraid of what Hibari might think of him. Afraid to come to terms with his attraction now that he was free. Had he had his way the whole time, Hibari would never know Mukuro was actually out of prison…

* * *

Reborn had to ruin it for him.

Hibari liked talking to the Sun Arcobaleno. Reborn was the only person he actually respected in the entire Vongola family "of wimps", as he would often say to the quiet Arcobaleno by his bedside.

Mukuro didn't like Reborn. He found him annoying and the "blasted" Arcobaleno did have something to do with him going to jail…

Reborn's feelings towards Mukuro was mutual, and as intuitive as he was towards others, of course, he knew Mukuro liked the Cloud guardian, but was avoiding him.

All he had to do was let slip word of Mukuro's presence to the resting Cloud guardian.

Reborn grinned invisibly to himself under his fedora as Hibari stormed out of the sick bay, muttering curses under his breath.

* * *

"Kusakabe-san, a moment please."

"Tsunayoshi-kun!" Kusakabe turned as his name was called by the Vongola boss, "What may I do for you?"

"I would like to ask you something… let's walk." They walked down the dimly lit hallway, Tsuna deep in thought.

"Why wasn't the Cloud ring destroyed? With the other rings?"

"Oh, you—I mean, your ten years later self, commissioned it so," Kusakabe shrugged.

"I did?" Tsuna asked, "Why would I…?"

"Maybe your hyper-intuition made you think so…" Kusakabe stopped walking, turning to stare at the shorter male.

"Forgive me if I am wrong, but I always had a feeling about your ten years later self…"

Tsuna stared back, "Go on…"

"That your ten years late self… did seem to favour Hibari. More so than the rest." Kusakabe straightened, and smiled, "Now if you would excuse me, I must go… Tomorrow is the battle, is it not?"

Tsuna could only stare at the taller male's retreating back.

_I might have favoured Hibari more than the rest…?_

Tsuna shook his head, thinking Kusakabe may have been imagining things.

_That would be more than impossible._

* * *

Mukuro's day started out at any normal day in the Vongola base…

Preparations for tomorrow's confrontation done, he went on his way out of his room to find his nuisance of an apprentice, who would most likely be firing flames at the base's stock of pineapples…

Until he walked right smack into a fuming Hibari Kyoya.

Mukuro let out an involuntary high-pitched squeak. "Um, hi…"

"Rokudo Mukuro," Hibari all but snarled, "So… why haven't you been around?"

"Well…" Mukuro muttered, "I've been busy."

"Really?" Hibari's brow raised, he didn't seem impressed by the vague excuse, "I vaguely remember you being in my room a few nights before."

_Shit, he remembers? _"I don't know what you are talking about…" Mukuro averted his dual coloured eyes from Hibari's searching gray ones. _I do hope he won't kill me though…_

"The day I was possessed by Byakuran…" Killing seemed to be out of Hibari's mind today, "Why didn't you kill me when I asked…?"

_On second thought, I rather die._

"I… um… Nagi would have been upset if I killed you." Mukuro hoped that Hibari would not be able to detect the lie. The truth was almost as impossible to believe anyway…

"Liar." Hibari stepped forward; despite being smaller, he was definitely imposing with that aura.

"Tell me," He breathed softly.

"I…" Mukuro shook, the proximity to Hibari was quite… intoxicating.

"Mm?"

_It's now or never… _"I… like you…"

Hibari's mouth opened like a gaping fish. "You… like… me?"

Mukuro gulped, nodding mutely. _Please don't let it be the wrong thing to say, oh please please please—  
_

"I… don't… know..."

_Oh shit! _Mukuro closed his eyes and cursed in every language he knew, he should have known, Hibari would never reciprocate his feelings. _Now I just look like an idiot._

"But…"

Mukuro's eyes flew open as Hibari pressed his lips against his. Mukuro stared in shock, didn't he just say…

Gently, the two pulled apart. Hibari laughed quietly at the other's shocked face. _He does look rather cute like that._

"I like you, I think." Hibari whispered.

"You think?" Mukuro stared.

"I'm not really sure yet, but… I am willing to try…"

Suddenly, the base shook with the effects of an attack, and yelling ensued, breaking the quiet atmosphere between them. Mukuro groaned, "I bet that was a funeral wreath. Just when we were being personal for once…"

Hibari smirked, "Well, we'll settle it later. But…" The raven pulled Mukuro to his eye level, "If you tell anyone what I said, I will kill you like the herbivore you are."

Mukuro chuckled as he followed the other down the hallway, "Of course."

_With the right person, a broken soul never stays broken for long._

**_END_**


End file.
